He looked up at the sky. The thundering grey clouds roaring in dissatisfaction. The icy cold rain pelted down in its sheer glory as students scrambled to find shelter, the younger ones screaming in joy as they ran in the rain, ignoring the threats of heaven. He looked up again. The rain continued to pour as it grew louder however the kids continued to laugh.

He let a small smile grace his lips. For a moment he vaguely remembered when he was younger, he saw happiness and joy in the smallest of things. Oh how times have changed. The skies ripped apart as it descended its fury, the thunder roaring as the clouds turned a darker shade of grey. The younger student's suddenly cried in fear as they ran for shelter, their parents angrily calling their name.

But Sasuke continued to stand in the rain. The rain caused a small stream down the bridge of his nose, dripping at the tip, onto his chin. Much like a furious waterfall, it began as a quite river with small currents but as it reached the beginning of the waterfall the currents became stronger, creating large amounts of foam before descending with a crash down the cliff into the calm river below.

Sasuke's spikey hair lay flat on his face, his dark blue hair looked almost looked black white standing in the pounding rain. Black perfectly shaped eyebrows framed his pale face, his long black eyelashes glued together due to the rain but still maintained their usual curl. Those black orbs stared into the clouds again, the same eyes that had seen so much yet so little. The eyes that held so much truth yet his lips constantly told lies. Mother Nature was indeed beautifully dangerous.

"Hey bastard!" yelled a voice, even over the roaring thunder the voice reached Sasuke's ears. "Get out of the rain you bastard! You'll die of hypovolaemia!" A word that they just learnt today. Sasuke used all the willpower he had to avoid face palming himself. A small sigh escaped his lips as he turned around to face Naruto. The loud boy was using his school bag as a small shelter, holding it above his head.

The loud obnoxious boy who deeply cared for Sasuke and was there when everyone abandoned him. Although Sasuke would never admit it, he appreciated Naruto who acted more like a brother than a friend. Beyond reasons unknown his blonde hair managed to maintain its spiky shape even when wet. His blue eyes looked even brighter in contrast with the gloomy weather.

"Naruto you idiot. Its hypthermia!" yelled Sakura in disbelief. Her pink wet hair glued to her forehead, her lips trembling from the cold as her forest green eyes glared at Naruto. As Sasuke walked towards him, the blonde boy sheepishly laughed. "It was a joke Sakura-san!" he yelled in defence as she stood a few metres away under the shelter, seeking refuge from the rain.

Sasuke let out a slight chuckle. Typical Naruto. Sasuke casually walked towards Sakura underneath the shelter, he was bound to get sick if stayed under the rain. Naruto sprinted, not wanting to stay under the gloomy weather any longer which caused him to slip a number of times. Just as they reached their pink haired friend her motherly rant began "What do you think you were doing underneath the rain? Can't you see its pouring and thundering?! You'll get a cold and miss a few days off school and you'll be behind!" she loudly exclaimed, stressing on the word school. As if the two boys cared about school.

Just before Naruto was about to reply with a snide remark which would certainly result with a bruise from Sakura, they heard a strong voice even though the rain caused a deafening sound as it crashed into the shelter above them "Naruto! Get in the car!" Just a few metres away on the road was Jiraiya in his car, visibly struggling to turn his windshields on. Before rolling the windows up again to avoid the rain entering his car, he quickly exclaimed "Sasuke you too, you can't be walking home in this weather!" Before Sasuke could refuse his offer, Naruto had grabbed him by his bag pack, waved to Sakura and fled to the car. Sasuke awkwardly ran behind him as he struggled behind him, the pulling of the strap caused him to run at an odd angle.

As the boys breathlessly threw themselves in the backseat of the car, Naruto exhaled an excited laugh, the running obviously causing an adrenalin rush. Sasuke glared at him. He enjoyed the rain, he embraced its darkness, and its anger as it descended its fury on earth. He really was looking forward to walking in the rain.

He awkwardly waved at Naruto and thanked Jiraiya as he got out of the car, his front door a few steps away. He quietly made his way to the large French designed door, fishing out his keys from his pocket, he began to panic and his mind jumped to conclusions. If I don't have the keys father would have to open the door… histhoughts stopped abruptly as his fingers curled around the cool metal key. He let out a small sigh of relief, wanting to avoid his father as much as possible. He slowly opened the door to avoid any unnecessary noise.

He took off his wet shoes and socks before entering the house. Sure, his mother was bedridden and she would never notice the state the house was in, however that didn't excuse him to create muddy puddles all over the tiles. He took off his jacket and bag pack and hung them by the door, hoping they would dry by tomorrow which he highly doubted. He silently made his way to his room to avoid any confrontation with his father. No not his father, his father had been dead to him for many years. As he made his way through the living room, for the first time in many years he wasn't greeted with the strong stench of alcohol had he sought help?

His father suddenly called his name, which sounded foreign as his name rolled off his father's tongue as he was usually greeted with an insult. "Sasuke" he bitterly demanded. The young raven boy didn't bother to turn around, however he stopped in his tracks to acknowledge the older man "Your brother is coming home tonight. I expect you to be on your best behaviour" Sasuke's breath got caught is his throat "Itachi?" he whispered. Not expecting his father to hear him the older man snickered "Yes Itachi, or did you forget you had a brother?"

Sasuke turned around and glared at him. His father knew of his broken relationship with his brother yet chose to mock it. "You're lucky I'm not drunk boy, I would have torn out your eyes for giving me attitude" he dangerously threatened. Sasuke flinched. He did not need a reminder to know what this man- no, this beast was capable of doing. If it forced Sasuke to lock himself every day in his room and receive emotional abuse without a complaint to keep the beast at bay, he would do it a thousand times.

The raven boy awkwardly stood there, his back still facing his father as he was never able to maintain eye contact with him. He had almost forgotten how the man looked like. Almost. Sasuke patiently waited for his dismissal, a scar on his upper arm reminded him that he always needed his father's permission to leave a room or the dining table. "Dismissed" grunted Fugaku. Before Sasuke could even take a step forward to leave the living room a low dangerous voice stopped him "Remember Sasuke, best behaviour".

"All the worlds a stage, and all the men and woman are merely actors" Sasuke was expected to act, to put on a fake façade, to put on a mask and pretend that he enjoyed life. To pretend that he lived in a perfect happy household, to pretend that he had a loving father, to pretend that his mother never suffered years of emotional and physical abuse from the hands of her alcoholic husband. They all had to pretend for their beloved Itachi was coming. But there was only so much pretending a person can do. The mask eventually begins to crack as time passes by and there is only so much pain a person can handle.

Just before Sasuke twisted the knob to enter his room he suddenly noticed his parents' bedroom- no, his mother's bedroom door was half way open. His parents stopped sharing a bed many years ago. He could hear a light humming, he could almost hear the smile. He hesitantly stepped towards the door, not sure whether to knock on the door or silently stand there as his mother continued to hum.

And for the first time in months he saw his mother rummaging around the bedroom, a smile graced her tired pale face as she wiped the dust off the side tables. And for the first time in years the bedroom was brighter than ever. The blinds and curtains were pulled back which allowed light in. Although it was still raining and the sun was no longer seen, the room was still bright compared to its usual darkness. Or maybe it was his mother's rare smile?

For a slight second Sasuke felt a pang in his chest as he walked back towards his room. The simple news of Itachi coming had his mother humming in happiness and his father temporarily stop drinking. All for Itachi. And he was sure the day Itachi would leave things would go back to how they were previously. All for Itachi. And nothing for Sasuke.